Netflix Reportedly Delays Harry And Meghan Doc After ‘The Crown’ Backlash—Here’s Why

Topline

Netflix has pushed back its documentary series with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle until 2023, according to Deadline, following backlash to the streamer’s hit series The Crown over a rumored plotpoint featuring King Charles III in the upcoming season.

Key Facts

Netflix originally planned to premiere the Harry and Meghan documentary in December, according to Deadline, but decided to postpone the Sussexes’ project until next year after Netflix executives were left feeling “rattled” by the reaction to The Crown rumors.

Executives felt it would be unwise to release two controversial projects involving the British royal family so close together, Deadline reported, as sensitivities remain high following the September death of Queen Elizabeth II, the nation’s longest-reigning monarch.

The Crown was criticized over the weekend by former British Prime Minister John Major, who was angered by a rumored storyline in the first episode of the series’ fifth season that will reportedly feature Charles scheming to replace his mother on the throne.

In the show, Charles will reportedly attempt to pressure his mother to abdicate the throne so he can take over as king, and holds a secret meeting with Major to ask the prime minister for his support, events that Major denied took place.

A spokesperson for Major described the plotline as “damaging and malicious fiction” and denied Charles ever raised the “improbable and improper subject” of ousting his mother with Major, according to The Guardian.

Netflix responded to the backlash by defending the show as a “fictional dramatization” that imagines what may have happened behind closed doors, and pointed out the time period has already been “scrutinized and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

News Peg

Charles’ depiction in The Crown is a sensitive subject so soon after his ascension to the throne and before his May coronation, especially considering the upcoming season will follow the royals’ life in the 1990s when Charles’ marriage to his first wife, Princess Diana, publicly crumbled. The series’ fourth season heavily alluded to an affair between Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, while Charles was still married to Diana. Soon after the season began streaming, posts from the royal family’s social media accounts featuring Charles and Camilla were targeted by online trolls leaving pro-Diana comments, in a wave that some media outlets linked to The Crown creating new Diana fans of a younger generation.

Tangent

Since stepping down as senior working members of the royal family in 2020, Harry and Meghan have signed exclusive deals with Spotify and Netflix believed to be worth millions. Last year, Harry announced he would publish a memoir in late 2022, though it has been reportedly pushed back until 2023. The couple’s media deals have prompted uneasiness among some in the U.K. over concerns they are profiting off their titles and could reveal too much about the private lives of the royal family. Last year, the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey reportedly sparked tension within the family after the Sussexes alleged relatives made racist comments about their unborn child’s skintone and Meghan said she did not receive adequate support from the palace when she struggled with suicidal thoughts. Buckingham Palace responded that the family was “saddened” by the allegations and that “while some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

Key Background

The Crown has been a breakout hit for Netflix, and viewer interest in the series and other royal media surged after the queen’s death last month. However, the show has come under fire before, and last year then-U.K. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the showrunners should be more transparent about the creative liberties taken when portraying private moments and feature a disclaimer at the beginning of episodes reminding viewers the show is fiction.

Further Reading

“Rattled” Netflix Delays Harry And Meghan Documentary Until 2023 Following Attacks Undermining ‘The Crown’ (Deadline)

Interest In ‘The Crown’ And Other Royal Media Surges After Queen Elizabeth’s Death (Forbes)

Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ Should Include Disclaimer That It’s Fiction, U.K. Culture Official Says (Forbes)

‘Children Are Off Limits’: HBO’s ‘The Prince’ Slammed For Parodying 8-Year-Old Prince George (Forbes)